MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina and Peru try to sort out ethanol dispute and sign accord to promote overall trade

President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires and visiting Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said the two countries would discuss the price of Peruvian corn imports from Argentina.

Argentina and Peru are seeking to resolve a dispute stemming from Peru’s decision to apply anti-dumping tariffs on imports of Argentine biodiesel a year ago, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Friday.

 In a joint statement following a meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires, Kuczynski said the two countries would also discuss the price of Peruvian corn imports from Argentina.

“We want Peruvian consumers to benefit from the Argentine Pampas,” Kuczynski said, referring to Argentina’s vast grains belt. “There are some pending items that we are going to try to resolve as quickly as possible, including the range of corn prices and biodiesel.”

In October 2016, Peru slapped tariffs on imports of biodiesel from Argentina for a period of five years after complaints of unfair competition. The Argentine Biofuels Chamber said at the time that the measure was against World Trade Organization norms and that it planned to take legal action.

Peru is the second-largest importer of Argentine biodiesel after the United States, which earlier this year announced steep duties on the imports. The Argentine government has asked for negotiations, and the U.S. Commerce Department is working on a possible agreement to suspend the tariffs.

Argentina is the world’s third-largest exporter of corn and soybeans.

In the joint statement, Macri said the two business-friendly leaders had signed eight deals to increase trade between the two countries’ private sector.